


The Arrow That Pierced A King

by softandhappy



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Canon Divergence - Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route, Gen, more than friends less than lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:13:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26007805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softandhappy/pseuds/softandhappy
Summary: Five years ago, the boy made a promise to his dearest friend, hoping that they could continue to indulge in the happiness they shared.Five years later, the boy finds himself at the throat of that dear friend, desperately fighting to stay alive.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	The Arrow That Pierced A King

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Umbr_el_on](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Umbr_el_on/gifts).



> This was a fic done for the FE3H 2020 Exchange! To Umbr_el_on: gosh i really hope you enjoy this
> 
> Everyone worked hard to participate, whether it was with amazing artwork, or with stellar writing. Please check out our hard work on Twitter at @fe3hexchange

Ashe lunges at the soldier with an arrow in hand.

Most people lack the nerve to attempt this sort of risky move. In fact, there were sure to be a lot of people who would later reprimand him for having tried it in the first place. Not only was it one of the most desperate moves that an archer can make, it was the worst one to pick amongst many other options. If you are an archer and an enemy soldier was charging at you from just a few feet away, the wrong answer would be to use an arrow like a spear and retaliate. You have only a few seconds at most to properly aim for a satisfactory target on the enemy’s body. Alongside that, the enemy is heavily armored, with very few spots of vulnerability. Your chances of stabbing through the steel plating is null without the force behind a shot from your bow.

As he lunges, he quickly looks at his surroundings. No one is there to see him. _That’s good,_ he thinks to himself _, no one can berate me for this._

His recklessness seemed to have been overpowered by sheer luck, as the spear misses him by just a few inches. Without hesitation, he stabs the arrow into the soldier’s face, driving it up from beneath their helmet. The soldier soon drops dead.

For the briefest of moments, he felt guilty. It soon goes away after he pulls the arrow back out and shoots it at an enemy wyvern knight.

Often he wonders when he got used to killing others, but whenever his mind starts to trail that path, a mental image of his siblings replaces it instead. He doesn’t have time to waste wondering about the morals behind his actions and behind the enemy’s actions. He only has time to act and kill for the sake of his sibling’s happiness.

Ashe quickly brings his attention back to the battle at hand.

The Kingdom’s siege against Enbarr had lasted for over half the day now, perhaps longer if you count the march there. Dimitri and Edelgard had both taken this month to prepare for this battle. While Ashe couldn’t have fully guessed how the Empire would be planning to counter the Kingdom, he could still surmise Edelgard’s approach. His guess was that Hubert would be leading the forces while Edelgard stayed inside the castle. Stationed inside to guard her would be the Empire’s strongest forces, naturally, while Hubert throws the rest at the Kingdom’s forces to wear them down. Enbarr would be reduced to a crumbling city, perfect for archers like Ashe to take advantage of.

This was exactly what both Byleth and Dimitri had predicted during the war council prior to this battle. It made Ashe feel more confident to know that he was able to be on the same wavelength as them.

However, it didn’t exactly go as they predicted. For some reason, the Empire’s strongest troops were stationed outside of the castle alongside Hubert. Instead of throwing weaker soldiers at the Kingdom to wear them down, it seemed that the Empire wished to counter them as effectively as possible. It wouldn’t be a war of attrition at that point. Still, it was implausible to believe that Edelgard would step down when the troops outside were defeated, so Ashe knew that the Kingdom still had to storm the castle afterwards. 

Surely the Emperor has a plan up her sleeve. But for now, Ashe just needs to worry about fulfilling his role: sneak up to the castle walls and weaken the enemy, so that the Kingdom’s actual vanguard can assault them without issue.

The dexterous sniper nimbly climbs the nearby remains of a ruined house, perching himself atop the thin, crumbling scaffolding. With an arrow notched to his bowstring, he quickly scans the area. Ashe watches as the rest of his archer battalion slowly catch up to him from behind. Once they do, a few of the archers notice where Ashe is positioned. They copy him and climb other nearby houses, which causes the rest of the battalion to follow suit. Ashe motions for them to slowly move forward by jumping across the rooftops, hiding behind whatever they can.

They stop once they can see the castle walls. Troops stand there, awaiting to push back the Kingdom’s forces. Ashe slowly pulls the bowstring back, bringing it up to his cheek. As he does so, the other archers copy him. They anchor their arms in place and wait to fire. Ashe peers up to the sky.

_Three…_

_Two…_

_One…_

A bright blue ball of magic is shot into the sky. It bursts after a few seconds, creating a beautiful explosion of ice and snowfall. While the imperial troops are distracted by it, Ashe yells out, “Fire!”

He and his entire battalion let their arrows loose, assaulting the enemies stationed in front of the castle wall. In a single barrage, most of them are easily taken down, save for the few stragglers who hid behind their fellow soldiers. Before they can properly react, Ashe’s battalion jumps down from their positions atop the roofs, brandishing their blades. Ashe does the same as he joins them.

“The Professor’s group will be joining us in approximately four minutes men! Whittle down the enemy until he arrives!” he orders.

His battalion lets out an intimidating battle cry as they charge forward. Ashe trails behind them, making sure to take down any enemies who break through. Every so often, he switches back to his bow and takes down any fliers attempting to divebomb them. With an accuracy unlike any other, he can cover his own troop while awaiting for reinforcement.

Everything was going smoothly. The soldiers around him were dropping like flies, and he was protecting his battalion with all his might. In the distance, Ashe sees Byleth and his battalion rushing in, accompanied by Mercedes and Felix.

“Men!” yells Ashe, “Fall back and reposition yourself onto higher ground, the vanguard is here to continue the assault!”

Ashe and a few other archers provide covering fire for the ones retreating, while Byleth’s group starts advancing forward. Once he makes sure that his group has extracted themselves successfully, he turns around to join them atop the city’s rooftops. But just before he does so, he’s stopped by Byleth.

“Professor? What is it?” Ashe asks. Byleth doesn’t provide him an answer. Instead, he thrusts a Killing Edge into Ashe’s hands, nods to him, then runs forward to dispatch the foes in front of him. As confused as he was, Ashe didn’t bother to question it. Moments like these have happened before, where the Professor would suddenly show up to provide additional equipment or advice about possible scenarios to occur in battle.

_This is probably one of those moments,_ Ashe thinks to himself, _I’ll stay wary._

However, it didn’t take long for the scenario that Byleth had seen to come true. Just as Ashe catches up to his troop, an entire horde of enemy brawlers and grapplers had fallen from the sky. They were riding atop their allies’ wyverns and pegasi, waiting to ambush Ashe’s division when they fell back.

“Argh! Everyone, try to hold out, King Dimitri’s troops will reconvene with us soon, so just—”

“FOUND YA!”

Suddenly, one burly War Monk comes falling from the sky above Ashe. The boy quickly backsteps, just barely evading the enemy as they land. A shockwave is sent throughout the ground on their impact, nearly causing Ashe to trip. When the dust picked up by the impact dissipates, a familiar smile emerges.

“Balthus!”

The self-proclaimed King of Grappling slams his fists together before rushing at Ashe. His sheer speed nearly overcomes him, but with fast reaction time, Ashe just narrowly dodges the attack, and Balthus launches past, unable to immediately stop his lunge. Ashe quickly brandishes the Killing Edge and begins his attack. His dexterity and accuracy allowed him to weave through all of Balthus’ attacks. Attacking Balthus himself was still a difficult task, however. The windows of opportunity are short and fleeting. Ashe’s mind isn’t capable of processing and recognizing those opportunities fast enough for them to stay open. The moment he sees a chance to attack, it’s already closed off by Balthus’ already extraordinary defense. Avoiding all of his attacks was all Ashe can do in order to not become overwhelmed. To even try and defend any one of those strikes would be a fatal mistake.

Ashe calls out to his men for backup, but he notices that all the troops in his battalion are battling against the brawlers and grapplers in Balthus’ battalion. This was a battle between both men.

Fortunately for him, one wide window of opportunity opened up. Balthus accidentally swung his fist too far forward for him to retract quickly enough. With this, Ashe takes this critical instant and lands the first blow against the man. He inflicts a deep cut to Balthu’s leg, slicing through the thick fabric of his attire. This forces Balthus to back off and regain his stability.

“Dirty play there!” says Balthus, “But don’t think a little cut to my leg is gonna be my downfall.”

“... Yeah. Yeah, I know. I would never underestimate you like that, Balthus.”

For just a moment, both men see a glint of regret in each other’s eyes.

This time, Ashe takes the first step and runs toward Balthus. Despite the confidence in Balthus’ words, the wound to his leg was definitely going to affect his combat performance for the rest of this fight. Even if it only meant a slight disadvantage, it was a disadvantage nonetheless. As Ashe closes into Balthus’ attack range, the burly man throws a punch, but before he could even fully extend his arm, the nimble sniper had already jumped high above him. Ashe dives down with his blade outward, but Balthus manages to block it with his gauntlet and push him back. Without hesitation, Ashe continues his assault, unleashing a flurry of strikes against Balthus. Some strikes connect, slowly tearing through Balthus’ thick armor and clothes. If Ashe could wear out the armor with well-aimed, critical strikes, then he would eventually break through and land a finishing blow.

Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy. Balthus wouldn’t let himself fall so soon. He initiates a much more reckless approach. First, he steels himself, and through his sheer willpower, he forces his mind to relax and enter a state of clarity. When he reopens his eyes, Ashe can see a familiar force glowing in his irises.

_Right, that so-called King of Grappling skill of his. Well,_ he thinks to himself, _this will be my chance to see how much I’ve improved over him!_

Unfortunately, Ashe wouldn’t get much time to realize how outclassed he was overall.

Balthus immediately picks up the tempo of the battle, assailing Ashe with swift jabs and strikes that he can just barely keep up with. A few blows manage to connect, albeit barely. As time passes, Ashe finds himself getting slower and slower while Balthus maintains the monstrous speed behind his attacks. Bits and pieces of Ashe’s already minimal armor get chipped away. Soon enough, Ashe becomes forced to use his Killing Edge to block the neverending strikes, slowly destroying the blade’s durability in the process.

Soon enough, Balthus manages to land a few blows. His hits all carry deadly weight to them, and after each one, Ashe simply wonders how he still manages to stand.

“Damn!” Ashe yells out. He jumps back a far distance away from Balthus, but as he does so, Balthus immediately starts sprints towards him. The moment Ashe lands, he looks up to see an incoming fist.

“IT’S OVER, ASHE!” Balthus shouts, “JUST TRY TO DODGE—”

* * *

“—this!”

“Agh!”

Ashe flies far backwards, rolling across the floor on impact. He’s soon prevented from hitting the walls by Yuri, who simply laughs at his friend’s mishap. “Well, that’s what you get, Silverbird! Balthus isn’t someone you can take lightly, even in a friendly spar.”

The silver-haired boy coughs as he tries to regain his breath. “Y-Yeah, I figured that out before the battle even started. I just didn’t expect him to go wild like that! I had him on the ropes too…”

A hearty laugh fills the air as Balthus approaches the two. “Well, I gotta go all out no matter what, right? But hey, you made me get into my King of Grappling state, so you definitely deserve props for that. C’mon, let’s go grab some grub,” he says while extending his hand to Ashe.

While Yuri grabbed a wooden sword for his practice spar with Bernadetta, Ashe and Balthus headed over to the dining hall. There, Ashe spent a few minutes personally cooking a meal for them both. Once finished, he brings two plates of Sweet and Salty Whitefish Saute. Balthus immediately dug in while Ashe took his time savoring the meal. When the two boys finished, they simply spent time talking to one another.

As the day passed, other students would join them, chat for a little bit, then move on with the rest of their day while the two boys continued to hang out. Even after the sun had set and the only source of light around them were the candles in the dining room, they continued to chat, smiles plastered on both of their faces. It was a strange bond that they had formed over the little time they spent together.

“So how’re your little siblings doing? Any word on them?” Balthus asked. Ashe’s smile lessened by just a little.

“They’re well. But after Lonato’s death, it’s been difficult on us all. Especially since the succession of House Gaspard has become such a big issue for us all.”

“Right, Lonato’s eldest also passed away, right?”

“Yeah… executed by the church.” Ashe’s grip on his cup tightened as he spoke. “For now, we’re unsure as to what will happen to Gaspard’s territory. Thankfully, my siblings and I are still considered members of the family with House Rowe’s backing.”

Balthus reached over and lightly flicked Ashe’s hand. “Hey, c’mon, don’t look so down. At least there’s a positive to it, right?”

Ashe chuckled. “For now, there is. I’ll have to consider what will happen to us after we graduate from Garreg Mach. Hey, y’know what?” he asks with a smile, “Maybe I could go on to inherit the title of Lord and become House Gaspard’s new ruler! When that happens, I could definitely take you in as a member of the family, or at least as a friend, Balthus.”

The look of confusion on his face made Ashe chuckle again. “Wait, why?” asks Balthus.

“Think about it, you’ll have the authority as a member of nobility when that happens. I can help erase, or at least pay for, your debts! You can even have legitimate reasons to visit House Albrecht in the Leicester alliance as well… yeah, yeah! This can work, I promise!”

No words could form in Balthus’ head when he heard those words. All he could do was laugh. And laugh he did. He laughed so genuinely, so loudly that it nearly drove him to an emotional state. This was what linked them together, their shared love for their families. Ever since the two had met each other, they knew that there was something oddly comfortable between them.

When Balthus’ laughter finally died out, he stood up from his seat and walked over to Ashe.

“Alright, now that we’ve definitely rested and digested, we’re gonna continue your training!” he proclaimed, catching Ashe off guard.

“T-Training? Again? This late?”

“Hell yeah, we’ll go at it underneath the moon! I’m pretty sure that prince Dimitri is still awake, so maybe he can watch and give us some tips. Let’s see…” Balthus pondered for a moment. “Oh, I can help you with some endurance and agility training! I’ll use my strongest punch, and you just gotta keep trying to dodge or break through it!”

“H-Huh?! Your strongest punch?! I don’t think this is—”

“Don’t worry!” said Balthus while fiercely patting Ashe’s back, “By the time the sun comes up, you’ll be quicker than anyone else!”

Ashe sighed, knowing full well that he wouldn’t be able to talk Balthus out of this. Yet despite his fear, he smiled brightly, and stood up from his seat.

“Alright, Balthus, but be warned! Because I’m going to give it my all, so that I can definitely—

* * *

“—BREAK THROUGH YOU!”

He saw this punch a million times already.

Ashe bends backwards, letting his body fall to the ground. Balthus’ fist just barely grazes the top of his head. When Ashe feels his shoulders meet the dirt below him, he pulls his legs in and curls his body. In one strong, swift motion, he pushes himself off of the ground by kicking his legs upward to Balthus’ chest. His feet connect, causing Balthus to wheeze as the air is kicked out of his body. He falls to the side as Ashe manages to land on his feet and stand up.

As Balthus struggles to catch his breath, Ashe quickly switches back to his bow. However, instead of notching another arrow to the string, he grips the handle of his Killing Edge and places it over the string. Without fail, he pulls it back with the bowstring and keeps it taut. He anchors his arm and aims at Balthus.

“Just stay down, Balthus!” says Ashe, “I don’t want to kill you!”

“Ggh, oh yeah? Then what about the men you just killed earlier? You’re telling me you wanted to kill them?”

He chuckles as he stares straight at Ashe. “C’mon now, don’t back down now! Are you finishing this, or what?! Because if you don’t…”

In the blink of an eye, Balthus is back on his feet, and charging at Ashe once more.

“I’ll have to kill you myse—”

Ashe fires the Killing Edge into Balthus’ right shoulder. The cry of pain that echoed into the sky pierces through all the surrounding soldiers. Both of their battalions stop fighting and look towards their respective commanders. When Balthus’ voice dies out, his battalion drops their weapons and raise their arms in surrender.

“Capture those who have surrendered,” orders Ashe.

Within the next few minutes, they do so. Ashe sits down against a rubble of rock and tends to his wounds with vulneraries, Dimitri’s troops at the middle guard catch up. The King’s soldiers continue their advance into the castle walls to join Byleth, but Dimitri approaches Ashe and hands him an elixir. He kneels down and places a hand on Ashe’s shoulder.

“Thank you for fulfilling this objective, Ashe. This will make our invasion into the castle far easier,” Dimitri tells him with a reassuring tone. He turns to Balthus, who now lay unconscious on the ground. “I see that he passed out. Perhaps due to the sheer trauma from that injury. You were quite ruthless to do such a thing, Ashe.”

The wounded man simply nods as the tears fall down his cheeks.

“I shall call for the reserve troops at the rear guard to escort you both back to our stationed camp. With any luck, he can still survive. And knowing your luck, I do not doubt the possibility.” Dimitri smiles warmly as he wipes away Ashe’s tears.

“Your majesty… Dimitri, thank you.”

* * *

Balthus awakens to the sobbing face of an all too familiar blonde. Beside her stood a smiling purple-haired man alongside a pouting redhead.

“Well, here we are,” says Yuri, “the four of us together under a tent once again.”

“... Yeah. It’s good to see you guys.”

Ashe watches the four ashen wolves reunite from outside the tent. Satisfaction wells up within him, and he starts to walk away and leave them be.

The nearby bishops greet him as they scramble to heal everyone else, both friend and foe. A few who see him inquire about his arm, offering to heal it for him. Ashe declines them all, instead ordering them to prioritize all the others. He returns to his tent and lays down, exhausted from the fighting. Byleth and Dimitri had yet to return from the frontlines, most likely they were now in combat against Edelgard within Enbarr’s castle. He feels guilty that he can’t join them, but his goal was to make it easier for them to invade in the first place, so he can at least take pride in achieving said goal. Besides, it wasn’t as if those two were going in alone. They still had the other Blue Lions to back them up, alongside the forces from the Church.

That didn’t mean he can afford to relax just yet. There are endless possibilities and scenarios that had been planned for, such as the possibility that imperial troops can storm this camp right now and cut off the army’s supplies. To that end, Catherine and Manuela were stationed here at camp. Now that Ashe is here with them and in no condition to return to the main area of battle, he figures that he can help them out when needed. 

Before he can actually go and help out, though, someone enters his tent. He looks up to see Balthus standing over him.

“Hey there, Ashe,” he says with a gentle tone. Ashe’s eyes widen again, this time out of some odd mixture of surprise and happiness. However, he simply raises his arm up and covers his eyes, shielding them away from Balthus. Balthus chuckles at this. “What, you suddenly feeling guilty for that stunt you pulled earlier?”

“Manuela told me that… that your right arm has been paralyzed.”

“Hah, yeah, I won’t be feeling this lazy arm from now on. But what can I say? I should be thankful that I’m still alive, y’know?”

Ashe purses his lips in guilt. “Balthus, I—”

“I joined Edelgard and betrayed you guys out of selfishness,” Balthus interrupts, “so don’t feel sorry. In that battle earlier, it was kill or be killed, yet you made a different choice. I’m happy to still be alive, and to have seen Yuri and the others again. Really, I mean that.”

He approaches Ashe and squats down next to him. When he sees his friend sniffling, he pushes aside Ashe’s arm to see the tears welling in his eyes. Balthus lets out another laugh as he tries to wipe them away.

“Edelgard swore to me that if I gave her my help in this war, she would repair my broken family. She swore that in her ideal society, my stepmother would be outcast from the family, and my real mother would come back to my father. Not only that, I could have been able to live with them and my stepbrother once more, this time without having to care for our noble status. The thought was just too… too much to ignore,” he explains. “I know that doesn’t justify my betrayal. I just wanted you to know my reasons.”

Ashe continues crying, but he slowly sits himself up. After a few minutes of silence, he takes Balthus’ hand into his own.

“Th-Then stay by my side after this war ends.”

“... Huh?”

“Did you forget?” Ashe asks, “Five years ago, I said that I would become the next Lord of House Gaspard, and make you a part of my family so that you can gain a position of nobility once again. When that happens, we can make it so that you and your family can be together again.”

Balthus is speechless, and Ashe smiles at this. It was just like five years ago.

“You… You being serious?”

This time, it was Ashe’s turn to laugh from the bottom of his heart.

“I promised. This can work.”


End file.
